One popular manner of constructing a swimming pool is by connecting a plurality of modular wall panels end-to-end to form the swimming pool. Frequently, the enclosure thus formed is not watertight and a flexible liner covers the end-to-end connected modular walls and the bottom of the swimming pool. Typical swimming pools of modular construction are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,596,296-Gertz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,247-Weir et al and U.S. Pat. No. 4,797,957-Weir et al. One or more of the modular walls may be omitted during construction and substituted with a modular seating unit, as is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,148-Weir.
The availability of a seating means to permit a swimmer to rest or lounge in a comfortable position in a swimming pool is a desirable convenience in a pool. While it is possible to lower a chair or stool, or even a seating module as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,322, into a swimming pool as a seating means, this is awkward, difficult, often uncomfortable and, sometimes, hazardous. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,322, there is disclosed a drop-in or add-on seat module for a swimming pool which rests upon the pool liner wall and/or the pool bottom and comprises two side-by-side bucket seats, limiting seating to two persons. As such, these drop-in units trap or restrict water flow behind and/or underneath and/or within the cavity formed by the unit upon the pool wall and/or pool bottom and can be a source of algae growth within the pool. It is also known, particularly for application to modular pools, from U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,148, to provide a seating module which may be substituted for a standard perimeter wall module within the modular perimeter wall of the swimming pool. The module of U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,148 has its two bucket seats recessed within the wall of the pool such that the seats do not protrude into the swimming pool beyond the plane formed by the vertical wall of the swimming pool. In an embodiment of the module of U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,148, the seat module includes a stairway recessed within the wall of the pool which is positioned adjacent the recessed seats. Like the seats, the stairway does not protrude into the swimming pool beyond the plane formed by the vertical wall of the swimming pool. This type of recessed modular unit creates a recess or well extending into the deck surface at the bucket seats and at the stairway.
Accordingly, there is a need for a modular seating area for modular pools which does not utilize deck space to provide the seating area, can accommodate more than two persons, provides freedom of movement of the legs, such as for kicking the water while seated, and is not confining to sit in but, rather, permits a person seated thereon to stretch out. Efforts to date directed at providing such a module suffer from one or more shortcomings. This is because prior art efforts at providing modular seating elements are either uneconomical to manufacture, hazardous and/or cumbersome or difficult to install or use. Accordingly, there remains a need for a simple, inexpensive to manufacture, easy to install, durable bench-type module for modular swimming pools.